My Grandfather's Blessings Stories of Strength, Refuge, and Belonging

by Remen, Rachel Naomi

• ISBN13: 9781573221504
• ISBN10: 1573221503
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-04-10
• Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover

Summary

When she was four years old, Remen's grandfather brought her an unusual present: a paper cup of dirt, which he instructed her to water daily. She did, with increasing boredom, until she was astonished to find that a plant had sprouted. "My grandfather was a scholar of the Kabbalah, the mystical teachings of Judaism", Remen tells us. Through this exercise and others, he taught her that the "spark of God" exists, even in the most unpromising places. Through a series of unpretentious, affecting vignettes, the author of the bestseller Kitchen Table Wisdom encourages readers to recognize and celebrate the unexpected blessings in their own lives. Many of her recollections are linked to her experiences as a medical student and a physician working with cancer patients, but the most memorable ones relate to Remen's deep engagement with her grandfather, who died when she was seven. She gently illustrates her advice through simple yet powerful stories, such as that of a young woman whose husband helped her discover the real meaning of beauty years after her devastating ma

Author Biography

Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D. is cofounder and medical director of the Commonweal Cancer Help Program in Bolinas, California, and is currently clinical professor of family and community medicine at the University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(21)
Receiving Your Blessings
Blessing	22	(3)
Wrestling with the Angel	25	(3)
The Shell Game	28	(3)
The Spice of Life	31	(5)
Lot's Wife	36	(3)
Having What You Have	39	(2)
Letting Go	41	(2)
Owning	43	(3)
Keeping It Together	46	(4)
At the End of the Day	50	(3)
Remembering	53	(3)
Getting Real	56	(7)
What Matters	63	(3)
Teachers Everywhere	66	(2)
You Have to Be Present to Win	68	(2)
Knowing the Heart	70	(4)
Counting Your Chickens	74	(3)
L'Chiam!	77	(9)
Becoming a Blessing
Getting It Right	86	(2)
The Gift	88	(2)
Being Used	90	(3)
Seeing the Buddha Seed	93	(3)
Simply Natural	96	(3)
All in the Family	99	(2)
Transmission	101	(2)
Bearing Witness	103	(3)
The Trajectory	106	(3)
Holding On the Heart	109	(3)
Lost and Found	112	(4)
Finding New Eyes	116	(4)
Strengthening Life	120	(4)
The Friend	124	(3)
Wisdom	127	(10)
Finding Strength, Taking Refuge
The Meeting Place	137	(2)
Pearls of Wisdom	139	(2)
The Way Through	141	(3)
Right Protection	144	(2)
From the Heart	146	(4)
Wholeness	150	(2)
The Link	152	(3)
Getting Clear	155	(3)
Being Fed	158	(3)
When Somebody Knows	161	(3)
A Place of Refuge	164	(2)
Coming Home	166	(2)
In the Gray Zone	168	(2)
Finding the Center	170	(5)
In the Beginning	175	(2)
Call Home	177	(4)
Broken	181	(7)
Promises, Promises	188	(9)
The Web of Blessings
Belonging	197	(4)
Lifeline	201	(4)
Learning to Serve	205	(4)
We Are Enough	209	(5)
Finding the Connection	214	(2)
Breathing In and Breathing Out	216	(2)
The Gift of Service	218	(4)
Fellow Travelers	222	(3)
The Laying On of Hands	225	(4)
Choosing Your Battles	229	(3)
Heaven and Hell	232	(2)
The Wise Man	234	(3)
How the World Is Made	237	(2)
One Little Candle	239	(3)
Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts	242	(9)
Befriending Life
The Game	251	(2)
Knowing Life	253	(3)
Loving Life	256	(2)
Eggs	258	(2)
Finding the Way	260	(3)
When It Works	263	(4)
Habit	267	(2)
The Gift of New Eyes	269	(3)
Making a Difference	272	(4)
The Bottom Line	276	(3)
Crazy Clean	279	(2)
Integrity	281	(7)
The Path	288	(2)
A Matter of Life and Death	290	(3)
The Mirror	293	(4)
Who Serves?	297	(3)
Beyond the American Way	300	(3)
The Emperor's New Clothes	303	(3)
Forgiveness	306	(4)
The Gift of the Magi	310	(4)
Completion	314	(3)
Celebration	317	(12)
Restoring the World
Lineage	329	(2)
Beyond Words	331	(2)
The Final Patient	333	(4)
Mystery	337	(2)
A Question of Style	339	(4)
On the Cutting Edge	343	(3)
Mary	346	(3)
After Dark	349	(3)
The Thirty-six	352	(4)
Finding Safety	356	(3)
The Way It Is	359	(4)
The presence of God	363	(2)
The Friction in the System	365	(3)
The Reward	368	(2)
The Real Story	370	(5)
Epilogue	375	(2)
Acknowledgments	377	(4)
Permissions	381